NC Transportation Museum's Old Albemarle River Boat Tour Recommended Reading List

If we get any of this reading done, it will be after this trip if we don't learn enough on the trip. I am posting the list here in case anyone else is interested in learning more about the Northeast coastal area of North Carolina.

Recommended Readings from Bland Simpson

Written by Bland:

• The Great Dismal:  A Carolinian's Swamp Memoir     
• Into the Sound Country:  A Carolinian's Coastal Plain  (with photography by Ann Cary Simpson)
• The Inner Islands:  A Carolinian's Sound Country Chronicles  (with photography by Ann Cary Simpson)
• The Coasts of Carolina (with photography by Scott Taylor)
• Little Rivers & Waterway Tales (with photography by Ann Cary Simpson)

Online sources recommended by Bland:

• "A Feast of Brick"

City Portrait:  Elizabeth City

https://www.ourstate.com/city-portrait-elizabeth-city/

• "A Sound Country Serenade"

https://www.ourstate.com/sound-country-serenade/

• "James Adams Floating Theatre Provided a Big Show on the Sounds"

https://www.ourstate.com/show-boat/

• "Fresh Catch"

Honoring the Waters that Provide Our Bounty

https://www.ourstate.com/honoring-the-waters-that-provide-our-bounty/

• "The History of the Scuppernong"

In Columbia, the river that gave its name to our grape is a lifeline

https://www.ourstate.com/scuppernong-nc/

Recommended Readings from David Cecelski

Written by David:

• A Historian’s Coast: Adventures into the Tidewater Past
• The Waterman’s Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina
• The Fire of Freedom: Abraham Galloway and the Slaves’ Civil War

Online sources recommended by David:

• On the history of the great Albemarle shad and herring fisheries—this entry is the introduction to a 10-part series on them that I am putting up this week, one day at a time.

https://davidcecelski.com/2018/03/25/welcome-to-herring-week/

• "The Constant, Haunting Music of the Geese." This entry is about Lake Mattamuskeet and Rachel Carson. It's not exactly Albemarle-y, but I think it's close enough. It was originally published in the N.C. Lit. Rv. 

https://davidcecelski.com/2017/08/30/the-constant-haunting-music-of-the-geese/

• On Edna Ferber, the James Adams Floating Theatre & Native Americans around the Albemarle--

https://davidcecelski.com/2018/03/10/finding-edna-ferbers-showboat/

Information from Tom Earnhardt

As an additional note guest speaker Tom Earnhardt will be filming our trip to feature our experiences in an upcoming episode of his original TV series “Exploring North Carolina” on UNC-TV!  If you are unfamiliar with his show, you may want to review past episodes here: https://www.unctv.org/watch/unctv-originals/exploring-nc/

ITINERARY FOR OLD ALBEMARLE BOAT TOUR

DAY 1 - 4:00 PM Check in at Fairfield Inn, located at 1640 City Center Blvd., Elizabeth City
5:45 PM Board bus outside Fairfield to be taken to the Museum of the Albemarle
6:00 PM Arrive at Museum of the Albemarle (located at 501 S. Water St. Elizabeth City) for registration and pick up information packets
6:30 PM Reception begins at Museum (heavy hors d'oeuvres)
7:30 PM Welcome and quick talk with speakers in classroom at Museum
8:15 PM Board bus outside Museum to be taken back to the Fairfield Inn

DAY 2 - 6:00 AM Drive and park your vehicle in the lot at Charles Creek Park, located at 719 Riverside Ave., Elizabeth City to board bus.
6:30 AM Board bus at Charles Creek Park with your luggage for short drive to waterfront.
6:45 AM Board the Belle of Washington at Waterfront Park, located at 508 S Water St, Elizabeth City 7:00 AM Depart for Edenton aboard the Belle
7:30 AM Welcome by Kevin Cherry and mimosas/breakfast
9:00 AM History and Nature Lesson Part 1 -- Bland Simpson/David Cecelski/Tom Earnhardt
12:00 PM Arrive and Board bus at Albemarle Plantation Marina, located at 421 Albemarle Blvd., Herford 12:30 PM Bus departs to Newbold White House
1:00 PM Lunch at Newbold White House, located at 152 Newbold White Rd., Herford
2:00 PM Tour Newbold White House
3:00 PM Board bus to depart for Edenton
3:30 PM Arrive Hampton Inn, Edenton, located at 115 Hampton Dr. Edenton—check into rooms
4:45 PM Board bus for short drive to downtown and social at historic Chowan County Courthouse where local hosts will greet tour guests and share information on dining options and activity options for Saturday morning.
5:00 PM Social at Chowan County Courthouse, located at 101 S. Broad St., Edenton
7:00 PM Dinner on-your-own in downtown Edenton
8:00 PM & 9:00 PM Board Bus to Hampton Inn—2 departures : 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM

Day 3 - 9:30AM & 10:00AM Bus pickup at hotel for shuttle to downtown Edenton for shopping and sightseeing 11:00 AM Lunch at Edenton lighthouse, located at 111 W. Water St.
1:15 PM Board Belle for Plymouth
1:30 PM Belle departs for Plymouth
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM History and Nature Lesson Part 2 -- Bland Simpson/David Cecelski/Tom Earnhardt
3:30 PM Belle intercepted on Roanoke by CSS Albemarle (shot over the bow) Please anticipate shots fired.
4:00 PM Arrive at Plymouth waterfront. (Cannon firing demonstration, costumed interpreters to greet guests, light refreshments and welcome at Gazebo. If inclement weather, location in Town Hall, behind gazebo)
4:30 PM-5:30 PM Tour museums (Port Plymouth, Maritime Museum, Black Bear HQ) Bus available for shuttling
6:00 PM Return to Maritime Museum, located at 206 W. Water St., Plymouth
6:00 PM Dinner in facility at Maritime Museum/Lighthouse where Tom Harrison speaks to tour guests
7:30 PM Bus departs for Holiday Inn Express, located at 840 US-64, Plymouth

Day 4 - 6:30 AM Bus departs Holiday Inn Express for short drive to Plymouth Waterfront to load luggage
7:00 AM Board Belle and depart via boat from Plymouth for Columbia
7:30 AM History and Nature Lesson Part 3 -- Bland Simpson/David Cecelski/Tom Earnhardt
8:00 AM Morning mimosas and Art
9:00 AM Welcome by Tyrell County Manager, David Clegg, at Columbia waterfront pier where group will offload – Boat shuttle available to take guests across river to downtown Columbia for shopping and sightseeing
11:45 AM Load Bus 12:00 PM Depart for Somerset Place
12:30 PM Arrive at Somerset Place and Lunch, located at 2572 Lake Shore Rd., Creswell
3:00 PM Depart Somerset
4:00 PM Return to Elizabeth City to parking lot, located at Charles Creek Park and receive gift bags.
---End of Tour

Roger's home from rehab

I know, you didn't know Roger was away. He was with a neighbor who offered to rehab Roger as a good deed. I polled the neighborhood list serve looking to hire someone and got a volunteer instead. I live in a great neighborhood. I thought I had an old photo of Roger somewhere but couldn't locate one, so here is the after photo of Roger's return. He looks great! We've missed him.

Next Up

A local trip! Cruising aboard the Belle of Washington along the inland waterways of North Carolina's Albemarle region. In the past, the NC Transportation Museum trips have been by train so we are looking forward to branching out with them. This trip will be to celebrate our 33rd anniversay.

We're home

Sorry it has taken me so long to get to this. I had a lot of catching up to do. Here we go starting with the farewell dinner.

It was held as I said before off site from the hotel at Olive & Fish. The day before we left, a large group of 4 or 5 full buses arrived and it was VIP time. We were leaving the next day as they were heading out for the day. It was a logistical nightmare but we saw their bus signs were The Israel Experience with Governor Mike Huckabee. I think that explains why we left the hotel for our dinner as that group was having a massive buffet that night. That reminds me... I know this because as we were settling our hotel bill for express checkout in the morning, I saw a business center sign. I walked around to a small corner with some telephones, 2 computers and a printer. We were able to print our boarding passes. That was when I looked over the balcony railing and saw the massive buffet being set. We had a short bus ride to Olive & Fish and back so it was not inconvenient. They put us in a small private upstairs room at one long table with U-shaped sides. We were one one of the 2 sides. The room was overly hot which was the only downside. They served appetizers family style. They took orders for main courses of fish, beef, chicken or vegetarian. Dessert was local pastries served family style. There was water, lemonade, white wine, and red wine on the table for self service. They offered beer if anyone wanted it. Clay did and they came back and told him he was entitled to 2 beers. He just had the one. We got back to the hotel about 9pm. It was time for bed as bags are out at 7am.

We were at breakfast at opening of 6:30am. We put our bags out before hand. We sat at our first shared table this morning as another guest invited us to a table for 6.

We wound up helping one overwhelmed bellboy roll our group's cart of luggage across the street and uphill to where we finally found our bus today. As I said above, the Huckabee group was taking precedence. It was a good time for us to depart! It was about an hour and a half drive to TLV airport. There were 2 flight 85s to the US that morning. We had people on both flights, our Air Canada to Toronto and a United to Newark. Mick, our travel director, was on the bus with us but flying to Rome. The Newark flight was checking in when we arrived. It was a little early for ours so we had time to use the restrooms. We were ready when they let us check in 3 hours early. Our bags weighed 10 and 15 Kg. I think we were allowed over 20, so we were traveling light. We got new boarding passes for both flights and luggage receipts. Off we went to security. We went through passport control where we had to have our blue slips from arrival. Lucky we still had them! They gave us a red slip that we had to scan to move on. We got access to priority/VIP security as we were Premium Economy. There was no line and we moved right along. We were very early. We were in boarding group 2 and they called 1 and 2 together. So far we were happy with Premium Economy vs. Business. The Air Canada Dreamliner Premium Economy experience onboard was equal to domestic Business Class, so we still have no complaints. It was a nice experience. Since the 12 hour flight was all daylight, it seemed like they served a lot more food. It was good and at some point, they simulated night by darkening the windows and turning off the lights. Clay slept some. I tried but the woman sitting alone behind us had 2 seats to herself and that still wasn't enough space for her. She kept sticking her feet between the seats onto the armrest or between my seat and the wall on the armrest. She must have toed me 1000 times during the flight, when she wasn't drumming her heels on the back of my seat. I have to conclude that she had some kind of medical condition. If I thought otherwise, I'd have had to give her a tongue lashing. I saw her when we left the plane and she was at least 40 years old, so she had to know better. Food. They offered water or orange juice before take off. We declined. Shortly after take off they brought menus. Meal one was salad, chicken or vegetarian ravioli with chocolate mousse. They served wine and beer with it. Meal two was a cold sandwich. Choices were pita filled with feta or pita filled with tuna. We both had feta. I liked it. It was served with pretzels and a choice of beverages. Meal three was tabbouleh salad, chicken or vegetarian pasta with Lotus cookies and a choice of beverages. It was all good and it seemed like they were serving a meal every 2-3 hours. We definitely didn't feel like eating dinner in Toronto.

We arrived in Toronto at about 6pm. Our outbound flight was scheduled to depart at 8:55pm. Plenty of time. This would be our first time re-entering the US after obtaining Global Entry. Toronto is listed as an airport with Global Entry kiosks. That is true, we used the kiosks. That was the only benefit. We used the Global Entry lines and got kicked aside for special holding while our checked baggage was processed. Per the Global Entry FAQ: If the kiosk receipt has an "X" printed on it, you must report to a CBP officer at the nearest staffed CBP passport control booth. You do not have to get back in line. The CBP officer at the passport control booth will review your documents, determine the reason for the "X" and either release you from there or refer you to "secondary" for additional processing.The "X" can mean many different things: random inspection; your fingerprints may not have matched; or other issues. You must have the "X" cleared before proceeding to the exit control point or you will be directed back to passport control for processing. The kiosk receipt shows the CBP officer that you have successfully used the kiosk.

We had to go through full security screening again. This was more rigorous than the swabbing we experienced in Toronto on the way to Israel. Keep in mind we never left a secure area after we were screened in Tel Aviv! We had to separate our liquids and take out electronics, then I got yelled at for not removing my shoes. I guess Toronto does not have TSA pre check. We didn't take off our shoes leaving Israel! Clay's bin with tablets got kicked aside and he got a swabbing. It took the better part of an hour and was not the Global Entry experience we had imagined when we paid $100 each and jumped through the hoops. Better luck next time.

Some last thoughts on Israel. We really enjoyed it and the AHI Tour Israel Land of Cultural Treasures. We learned some Hebrew. What I remember is shalom which means peace, hello and goodbye and toda is thank you. I'm not a very good student! The other thing which kept coming up and which I never wrote about was a really old map that kept coming up and being referenced which showed Jerusalem as the center of the known world. I don't think I mentioned before that Jews believe the Foundation Stone is under the current Muslim Dome of the Rock structure and that it is where God started creating first the world and then Adam. Hence, Jerusalem would be the center of the world. It is a nice story and a nice image.

Last day in Jerusalem

We had a really short and relaxing day today. I don't know why when looking at the itinerary I didn't notice the almost 4 hour gap this afternoon. We are mostly packed up anyway so didn't need the time for that. We can't find that there is any printing facility in the hotel, so we'll be asking for boarding passes at TLV airport when we check our bags.

We learned that the farewell dinner tonight at 7pm will be at a restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. It will be at Olive & fish.That doesn't sound too promising for me. I have been able to easily avoid fish and seafood all trip without any help. In the good news category, we never ate the nabs or apple we had stockpiled for Shabbat. So, I know I'll have something to eat tonight no matter what.

We departed for Yad Vashem at 8:30am. Ori walked us around some of the outdoor features first and described our visit and gave suggestions. This was our first museum we visited unguided here in Israel. I know Ori wasn't allowed to guide or use our headsets because Yad Vashem uses their own. But we still used guides at the last 2 museums. I have no idea why not here. It was fine and probably because it is so disturbing to some people that they get in and out as quickly as possible. We were in around 9am and needed to meet outside on the other side by 11am. It is a tall triangular shaped building that you can see all the way through length-wise but that you have to zig-zag back and forth from side room to side room to progress to the far end to exit. So, you are really forced to spend time and look. Since we felt we knew a lot about the end period of the Holocaust, we focused on the pre-war run up to the Holocaust. I found it disturbing in the historical parallels of a party and candidate coming into power based on a campaign of hate speech. Both the womens' restroom and the Children's Memorial had what was for me a disturbing use of multiple reflection mirrors. An infinity of images that was disorienting. I know the Children's Memorial was designed to do it. I asked Ori about the Ladies' Room and he had never heard about the U-shaped room of mirrors before and the Mens' Room is not like that according to him and Clay. A coincidence?

At 11am we met in a small classroom in the Youth Study Center with Berthe, a French Holocaust survivor. She was 6 when anti-Jewish activity began in Lyon and 9 when her parents sent her to live on a farm with a widow near the Swiss Alps with a certificate stating a local priest had baptized her. She lived on the farm until she was 12 or so and reunited with her parents who had been maquis. It was probably a fairly typical story. We spent almost 2 hours with her.

About 1pm, we arrived outside the Machane Yehuda market. It was much larger and more restrained than the one we visited in Tel Aviv. I don't know if I said it before, but I quickly got over my initial dislike of Jerusalem. I am not sure what I was reacting to on our first arrival in town. It was not a good first impression. I still wonder if it was just the view on arrival because seeing it and approaching it from a distance from the east instead of the west was fine for me. We were back on the west side of town again today and I recognized some of the first day landmarks and it is just different. That said, we drove by the Knesset today and that was new. Back to the market. We had to meet back at 2:30pm and we on our own to have lunch. We wound up at a Yemeni place. There are evidently a lot of Yemeni Jews living in Israel. We ate at Jahnun Bar. Fearing over ordering again, we ordered a pizza malawach to share with the intention of ordering a sweet version in a choice of chocolate, honey or peanut butter for dessert if we liked the first one. We did like the first one, so Clay ordered a chocolate one. He was asked small or large which was weird because the menu only had one size. Then again the menu only had  one thing in 2 sizes and after our "dessert" was delivered we realized that somehow Clay's order had become one for jachnun. It came with a cup of tomato sauce, a hard boiled egg and some hot green sauce. It was clearly not dessert. We didn't like it much, especially since it wasn't what we expected, but we ate most of it anyway. We passed a group of 4 female soldiers eating ice cream and figured that would do. Clay bought a selection of pastries before we found a crepe place with ice cream. I had cookies & cream and Clay had dulce de leche. He said it wasn't as good as last night's gelato. It was certainly an International experience anyway.

Since it will be late after dinner and we have a 7:30am departure tomorrow morning, I will post this now I may not post again until after we get home. It depends. I won't have a Business Class Lounge to post from this trip!

Photos

Last Night

We had an excellent escort from our Israeli guide, Ori, last night to the Night Spectacular. It was an excellent suggestion and we were glad we spent the extra time and money. We realized this morning as we ate breakfast overlooking the David Tower that it was where we were last night viewing the projections. After the show, we walked through the Mamilla Mall. We stopped at H. Stern. We stopped in to use the card we'd gotten on hotel check in to receive a free charm. Since Clay was at my side, she handed one to each of us. They were both star of David, but the card had an image of a hamsa, or hand, we asked and she found one of those and exchanged it. So we got 2 H. Stern charms from Israel. Nice. Clay had a pistachio gelato cone on the way back to the hotel.

I spent some time sorting my clothes to prepare for our last day here before bedtime. Every hotel we've stayed in in Israel had an iron and small board in the closet. When I got out my travel jeans and blouse, they looked as if they'd been slept in, they hadn't. I went to our David Citadel closet and you guessed it no iron. I hung them up and will have to go rumpled. I checked the guest directory hoping they had a room somewhere or a number to call for an iron but while they will launder or dry clean, there is no mention anywhere of pressing or ironing. So, I'll leave rumpled. I didn't need an iron the first 4 or 5 nights!

Today we visit Yad Vashem. That and a visit to Mechane Yehuda Market are all that we have on the schedule besides a 7pm farewell dinner at the hotel, I believe. We always knew this was a long pair of flights for a short trip, but it really has flown by with very little down time.

I'll be back later this afternoon or evening with a post about today. But, before I go I want to let everyone who mighth be following Mideast news and be worried that we are not feeling any effects of what is happening militarily with Israel. This does probably explain all the tanks we saw moving North towards Syrian when we were in the Golan Heights. I didn't mention it because it was military and it seemed like a bad idea. But I think Clay posted a photo.

More later.